Pamela McClintock wrote:On the eve of Comic-Con, Hollywood's superhero dating wars intensified on Wednesday as Marvel Studios and Disney swooped in and laid claim to the May 2018 weekend previously occupied by The Amazing Spider-Man 4.

MARC GRASER wrote:With more than 5,000 crime fighters and villains in its library, Marvel Entertainment is looking for some help in adapting those characters into films.Comicbook giant is readying to assemble a group of scribes who will pen scripts for various properties Marvel wants to develop.

The writers group will be similar to that created by the fellowship program the Walt Disney Co. has been running since 1990. Latter enlists a dozen scribes to work with creative execs to develop films for the studio and TV shows for ABC, the Disney Channel and ABC Family.

Marvel will invite up to five writers each year to work on specific projects, said a source familiar with the deal. Those could include staffers behind Marvel's comicbooks. Tenpercenteries around town are currently pitching potential candidates with writing samples.

The company will provide the specific pitches it wants the scribes to tackle. Those could involve certain plot points for movies already in development or characters it would like to see in its future film slate.

Gathering of scribes will help Marvel come up with creative ways to launch its lesser-known properties, such as Black Panther, Cable, Doctor Strange, Iron Fist, Nighthawk and Vision.

Nikki Finke wrote:An original even surprising and certainly risky project from producer/top executive Kevin Feige, Guardians Of The Galaxy falls into what Marvel Studios has dubbed Phase II that broadens its cinematic universe to include new heroes and villains, many of them not household names. These characters have been around for decades in the pages of Marvel Comics, even though they didn’t come together until 2008 as the GOTG (which prior to that was the name of a group of crimefighters in the 31st Century of an alternate Marvel Universe). The heart of this movie with heart is the team of Marvel-mentored screenwriter Nicole Perlman and director James Gunn, who helmed horror-comedy Slither and superhero send-up Super but had trouble finding an audience until now. While GOTG "owes a great debt" to Marvel helmers Jon Favreau and Joss Whedon, Gunn says it owes an even bigger debt to Steven Spielberg and George Lucas because it’s more of a space adventure film than a superhero film.

Perlman developed the project through the Marvel writing program in which scribes each choose a property from a list provided by the studio. She chose GOTG. "My friends in Hollywood were like, ‘Why would you choose that? They’re never going to make a movie with a talking raccoon in it.’ I loved the tone and thought it would be fun," she told media. Perlman called it "a really incredible experience" finding the right permutation of characters and story to craft into the best movie. The process took 2 years. "It was nice to have the time and freedom to explore the different ways the project could play out. I think there’s this idea that a female screenwriter who is writing science fiction and not romantic comedy is a bit of a dancing bear. And I appreciated that Marvel didn’t treat me that way. It was very much about the writing." (She added: "There just aren’t enough women getting the chance to work in this genre and I hope this is the start of a larger trend.")

Gunn set out to create a franchise and had given thought to Guardians 2 before he even began pre-production on Guardians 1.

Rich Johnston wrote:Bleeding Cool has been writing for some time about Marvel’s move to prioritise The Inhumans as a major property in Marvel comics, with an eye toward creating a new movie franchise.

The comic book series Inhuman and the crossover event Inhumanity, spread the Inhumans – people with a lineage of alien DNA, and powers that emerge on contact with the Terrigen Mists – across the world.

This was an intentional act to create an alternative to the mutant population of the X-Men comic books. Marvel cannot make films or TV shows of the X-Men properties, as the rights were bought by Fox during Marvel’s term in bankruptcy, as were the rights to the Fantastic Four.

But they can make films starring The Inhumans, Or at least, they can now…

But in the year 2000, they couldn’t. Dave Elliott tells me that he was involved with ex-Marvel movie mogul Avi Arad when he tried selling an Inhumans movie to Paramount, based on the Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee Eisner award-winning Marvel Knights series. But when Paramount didn’t like that, Elliott pitched the Neal Adams/Jack Kirby plot about Black Bolt coming to New York, as the backbone of the film.

Mike Mignola was going to do some of the redesigns, there was an animated spinoff planned, the film was financed, director attached and contracts signed. Elliott says he told folks to check their license contracts but Avi Arad told him they didn’t need to.

Paramount wanted to buy it, but when Marvel eventually did check their contracts, they found that Fox had the rights to use the Inhumans in films since their first appearance was in The Fantastic Four.

Marvel even offered the project to Fox, as it was fully funded, but Fox said no.

Well, just as there proved some wiggle room with Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, so Marvel Studios believe they have similar wiggle room now.

It may need a namechange to Nuhmans, and they may need to use all the new characters they have been creating recently across the world, rather than Black Bolt, Medusa, Gorgon, Lockjaw and others from the original appearances.

Matt Goldberg wrote:Yesterday on Ellen, Robert Downey Jr. said he and Marvel were in the middle of negotiations for Iron Man 4. However, later that night, he went on The Late Show, and told David Letterman that not only is there no script, but when pressed to give a definitive answer on whether he would do the movie, Downey responded:

“Just between us, no — but I’m going to do other stuff with Marvel. I’m still going to be involved with Marvel and there’s going to be plenty of other fun stuff.”

He also said that Marvel does “have a plan, and I think they’re going to announce — they’re very secretive about it,” which is a statement one could say about Marvel Studios at any point in time.

Yes, we have a Sherlock 3 in development. We want it to be the best of the series, so that’s a pretty tall order. Also, Perry Mason is a property I’m looking forward to developing further, going back to the 1931 book series…similarly to what we did with the first 2 Sherlocks, mining the original material for things that are “new.”

it seems like an invisible line has been crossed in the evolution of movie franchises. We've gone beyond the notion of self-contained series or sequels, and entered a new phase in which universes are the primary arena of cinematic storytelling.

So probably most of you have already seen this, it's been all over the place, but just in case, Marvel released their plans for Phase 3 today at El Capitan, including release dates (first 2 listed are the end of phase 2):

· 5/1/15 – AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

· 7/17/15 – ANT-MAN

· 5/6/16 – CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR

· 11/4/16 – DOCTOR STRANGE

· 5/5/17 – GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 2 (previously dated 7/28/17)

· 7/28/17 – THOR: RAGNAROK

· 11/3/17 – BLACK PANTHER

· 5/4/18 – AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR PART I

· 7/6/18 – CAPTAIN MARVEL

· 11/2/18 – INHUMANS

· 5/3/19 – AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR PART II

Holy cats that's a lot of movies. And a lot of news But I suppose this is roughly what has been anticipated. No Iron Man, which is no surprise, but we already know from RDJ that he will appear in "Avengers 3" which I presume means both parts?? And Captain America: Civil War.

Chadwick Boseman (of 42 fame) will be playing T'Challa. Nice choice I think. And here's some concept art apparently at the announcement today:

And here's some bootleg from the announcement itself, haven't watched this yet...

Talk about over-saturating the market. I understand that these movies right now are unstoppable, I just wonder if the movie going public will be able to keep up with this constant barrage (and also, they'll be getting DC movies too). As a "geek" and sci fi/fantasy fan, I honestly can't keep up with these movies now, and every new one seems to add another layer of complexity (meaning the way they are all interconnected). I'm curious if they'll be a point where the number drop from malaise of the genre.

Yeah, you've got the DC films, and Sony's Spiderman universe, and Fox has X-Men and Fantastic Four. I, too, doubt that the market can bare so many very similiar movies. I generally think somebody, if not several players are going to lose financially in this pigpile. But it's a great time for the audience who loves these movies.

As for that list...

If DOCTOR STRANGE comes out looking like a BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA meets THE SHADOW type of thing, then I'm in. If it turns out looking more like the Keanu CONSTANTINE movie, then I'll skip it.

The setting in BLACK PANTHER intrigues me. We don't get a lot of movies set on the African continent, and usually it's gloomy stuff like BLOOD DIAMOND. I think DISTRICT 9 was one of the few movies in recent memory set there that tried to be fun. I also want to say I'm glad they're re-using David Carridine's Death Cat costume from CIRCLE OF IRON. Also, Chadwick Boseman is a cool name. It sounds made up, but not in a silly distracting way like how Benedict Cumberbatch just sounds like a Wes Anderson character or something. I realize that's the actor's name and not the character, but maybe they should also introduce a character named Chadwick Boseman.

I know I was one of the few people worldwide who found GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY a bit disappointing (which isn't to say I found it bad). I'll catch the sequel, and I hope they make a stronger movie the second time out. It definitely needs a better developed villain, and I'd probably prefer if The Guardians beat the villain in slicker way, like an OCEAN'S 11 type of teamwork thing.

so sorry wrote:As a "geek" and sci fi/fantasy fan, I honestly can't keep up with these movies now, and every new one seems to add another layer of complexity (meaning the way they are all interconnected). I'm curious if they'll be a point where the number drop from malaise of the genre.

That's definitely one of my issues with the comics themselves. The more convoluted they are, the harder they tend to be to enjoy. Right now I find what's going on with the movies to be an intriguing sort of balancing act. How far can they push this interconnected universe thing without overwhelming or alienating people who don't want to watch whatever they make?

so sorry wrote:Talk about over-saturating the market. I understand that these movies right now are unstoppable, I just wonder if the movie going public will be able to keep up with this constant barrage (and also, they'll be getting DC movies too). As a "geek" and sci fi/fantasy fan, I honestly can't keep up with these movies now, and every new one seems to add another layer of complexity (meaning the way they are all interconnected). I'm curious if they'll be a point where the number drop from malaise of the genre.

it was already oversaturated for me. i haven't seen the 2nd Thor film, never watched that SHIELD tv series, and i'm already worried about whether i'll have any clue at all what's going on by the time the next Avengers films comes out.

so sorry wrote:Talk about over-saturating the market. I understand that these movies right now are unstoppable, I just wonder if the movie going public will be able to keep up with this constant barrage (and also, they'll be getting DC movies too). As a "geek" and sci fi/fantasy fan, I honestly can't keep up with these movies now, and every new one seems to add another layer of complexity (meaning the way they are all interconnected). I'm curious if they'll be a point where the number drop from malaise of the genre.

it was already oversaturated for me. i haven't seen the 2nd Thor film, never watched that SHIELD tv series, and i'm already worried about whether i'll have any clue at all what's going on by the time the next Avengers films comes out.

Yeah I've seen less than you even...no Thor 2, no Iron Man 3, no Guardians of the Galaxy or Agents of Shield. I recently watched Winter Soldier, and although I thought it was OK, when I waited for the post credit ending, I had no flipping idea what was going on.

As much of a c.f. as Phase 3 (and the superhero scene in general) is shaping up to be, the geek in me is stoked about the Doctor Strange and Black Panther movies. Very curious how they'll portray the spirit world and Wakanda on film.

it is only a couple movies a year, not exactly an overwhelming amount of content to keep up with. what is that, maybe 5 hours of viewing time per year? pretty sure only two sundays worth of supporting the NFL eclipses that amount of "oversaturation".....and Marvel doesn't use racial slurs for any of its franchises or try to help sweep acts of domestic violence under the rug

Peven wrote:it is only a couple movies a year, not exactly an overwhelming amount of content to keep up with. what is that, maybe 5 hours of viewing time per year? pretty sure only two sundays worth of supporting the NFL eclipses that amount of "oversaturation".....and Marvel doesn't use racial slurs for any of its franchises or try to help sweep acts of domestic violence under the rug

the difference is watching something you enjoy vs. watching something you don't enjoy. i watch the marvel films that interest me or that i think will be fun. but Thor holds zero interest for me. even with natalie portman it STILL holds zero interest for me. i'm not going to invest 2 hours of time watching something i don't like, just so i can hopefully understand some obscure plot point in a film coming out a few years later that i do want to see.

and i'm pretty sure that agents of SHIELD tv show by itself represents well more than 5 hours of time investment per year.

For me oversaturation is not so much a problem of how many movies, all of which I would gladly watch in my own time (although those of you who skipped the Thor ones aren't missing much), rather the endless news cycle. The idea that from now until 2020 there will always be SOME comic book movie - Marvel, DC, Sinister Six, whatever - that the movie websites I visit won't shut up about, literally at least one story every day, from the casting to the trailers to the easter eggs to the new costumes, almost makes keeping track of it all feel like a job, and a weirdly tedious job at that.

Ribbons wrote:For me oversaturation is not so much a problem of how many movies, all of which I would gladly watch in my own time (although those of you who skipped the Thor ones aren't missing much), rather the endless news cycle. The idea that from now until 2020 there will always be SOME comic book movie - Marvel, DC, Sinister Six, whatever - that the movie websites I visit won't shut up about, literally at least one story every day, from the casting to the trailers to the easter eggs to the new costumes, almost makes keeping track of it all feel like a job, and a weirdly tedious job at that.

How do you think The Butcher feels??? He must be like "FUCK MARVEL, SLOW DOWN!!!!!!!!"

I'm letting things slip too, I never saw the second Spider Man redux movie (heard it wasn't that good and it's not part of this universe so whatever), took forever to watch Winter Soldier (which I really liked). But yeah, i'm not having trouble keeping up on the movies so much as all of the "news". I also wonder if the hype will have burned out by 2019 (or well before). But there are lots of movies in what we've seen so far that I've really, really enjoyed, and a number that I'm getting pretty excited about. I don't know much about Inhumans. I didn't know much about Guardians of the Galaxy (but definitely got into it). Really excited for Black Panther, additional Cap movies and Avengers. Thor I can give or take but I watch.

Anyone not watching Agents of Shield isn't missing anything continuity or story wise. It's very much intended that it not be 'required watching' unless you absolutely NEED TO CATCH EVERY SINGLE IN JOKE, NOD AND EASTER EGG like some fanboys do. I watch it, but it's mostly because it's still auto recording on my DVR. It's not bad, it's not great, it's kinda mediocre, but so is much of genre tv.

Moriarty wrote:If you're not familiar with Bruhl's work, go check out Ron Howard's "Rush" first. I thought he was fantastic in the movie playing an unrepentant asshole, and Bruhl's one of those guys who seems like he's capable of so much more than he's been given to do so far on film. If playing a bad guy in a Marvel film raises his visibility and makes it more likely for other filmmakers to cast him in the future, then this is a good thing in more ways than one.

The duo are even hoping to work together on 'Captain Marvel', the comic giant's upcoming first female-led superhero film.

The source said: "Marvel has been courting Angie to direct the project and Charlize is a clear fan favourite for the starring role. If Charlize were to get the part, Angie would almost certainly sign on to work with her new pal."

Kim Masters & Matthew Belloni wrote:After what one source describes as "several years of frustration," Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige has pulled off a reorganization of the vaunted film company that has him reporting to Disney studio chief Alan Horn as opposed to the infamously micromanaging Marvel Entertainment CEO Isaac "Ike" Perlmutter.

Feige, the architect of Marvel's transition from a flailing comic book company into a film powerhouse that was sold to Disney for $4 billion in 2009, is said to have vented his unhappiness to Horn and Disney CEO Bob Iger earlier this summer. The reorganization was put into effect last week, according to sources.

"Marvel Studios is taking the next logical step in its integration with The Walt Disney Studios, joining Pixar and Lucasfilm in centralizing many of its film-related functions in Burbank, with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige and co-president Louis D’Esposito continuing to lead the Marvel Studios team reporting to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn," a Disney spokesperson tells THR in a statement.

The revamp is a blow to New York-based Perlmutter, a low-profile billionaire who has contributed to Marvel's reputation in Hollywood for frugality and secrecy (as THR reported in a 2014 feature, he attended the premiere of Iron Man in a disguise to go undetected and once complained that journalists at a press junket were allowed two sodas instead of one). Jeph Loeb, head of Marvel Television, continues to report to Perlmutter, who will maintain oversight of Marvel's TV group, publishing, animation and other New York-based operations.

Perlmutter, 72, is said to have accepted Feige's insistence on the film group breaking free. But the move illustrates the power that Feige has amassed within the Disney empire, having overseen a slate of films since 2009 that has grossed more than $7 billion while rival Warner Bros. has struggled to turn its DC superheroes into a comparable cinematic universe. Disney has plotted out Marvel films until at least 2019.

The shift also evidences the tricky executive politics that Iger must manage as a result of assembling several freestanding feifdoms under the Disney banner over the past decade. Pixar Animation Studios, Lucasfilm and Marvel have been key acquisitions that brought with them valuable intellectual property assets and creative expertise. But each silo is overseen by powerful executives such as animation gurus John Lasseter and Ed Catmull, producer Kathleen Kennedy and Perlmutter and Feige, respectively, all of whom have tremendous influence within their corner of the Disney empire.

Feige, 42, has been considered the key man at Marvel, producing everything from the original Iron Man through this summer's Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man. One insider says Feige has earned the opportunity to break free from Perlmutter, who is not only controlling, but also obsessed with thrift.

"Everybody knows Ike is difficult," says one source close to the company. "This has been a long time coming. Kevin has grown his entire career under Ike and now it just makes sense."

DEVIN FARACI wrote:Yesterday my friend El Mayimbe of Heroic Hollywood reported on Periscope that there has been a shake-up of the Creative Committee at Marvel, and I can now confirm that. Not only has there been a shake-up, I believe that the Creative Committee is actually finished altogether, although some version of it may continue to live on at Marvel TV, which remains under Ike's control.

What was the Creative Committee? It was a group of people who would give notes and thoughts on Marvel productions as they made their way from script to screen. Some of the guys on the committee included Alan Fine, who came with Perlmutter to Marvel through Toy Biz, Brian Michael Bendis, who is a prolific Marvel Comics writer, Dan Buckley, publisher of Marvel Comics and Joe Quesada, former editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and the current Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Enterprises.

On paper that sounds like a great line-up of talent, but it seems as if in practice it was often a source of frustration. Over the years I've heard many stories of the Creative Committee giving notes that are pedestrian, motivated by 'save the cat' story logic and sometimes a drag on creativity. One Marvel creative talked to me about battles with the Creative Committee where they focused on details of nit-picky science that ignored the general tone of the script itself. The notes that drove Edgar Wright off Ant-Man came from the Creative Committee. What's more, the Creative Committee was often very tardy with their notes, making movie development a much slower process. All of the Committee members have other, very important jobs, so you understand why that would be the case, but it was a pain for filmmakers. And that's before taking into account the political divisions within Marvel that also created friction with the Creative Committee.

Now that the Creative Committee has been dissolved and now that Ike is out of the picture, Marvel Studios is facing a real new dawn. It won't be evident on Captain America: Civil War or maybe Doctor Strange, which is already deep in pre-production, but everything coming afterwards could reflect a new energy at Marvel. Key creative decisions are now being made by Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito and Victoria Alonso alone. Any drag or difficulty caused by the Creative Committee is over, and any skinflint choices and bizarre decisions made by Ike are out of the way (trivia: I understand the reason there are no Black Widow toys is specifically because Ike, with a background in toys, believes girl toys do not sell and thus vetoed them again and again. One guy was the roadblock.), and now we're going to see Marvel Studios operating at full power as it goes into Phase Three. I don't think this means we're going to see Captain Marvel suddenly get a $300 million budget - I think Marvel understands that reasonable frugality is what has allowed Ant-Man to become a success - but I think we're going to see happier actors, more dynamic creative visions and a Kevin Feige who could be leading Marvel well into the next decade. More than that, I think the doors to diversity have opened in a big way, especially post-Ike.

When they write the book about Marvel Studios this is going to be a big chapter.

As The Hollywood Reporter first reported Aug. 30, Feige and his highly successful film division now will report to Disney Studios chief Alan Horn instead of Perlmutter, the New York-based executive who oversees the Disney-owned company. Multiple sources say that Feige's years of frustration came to a head in part over the making of the third installment of the Captain America series, which recently completed filming in Georgia. Others say it was a move whose time finally had come because the film division slowly has gravitated toward Disney and now will based on the Burbank studio lot.

Civil War, set for release May 6, has been nicknamed Avengers 2.5 because its scope — and its huge cast — is more in line with the Marvel mega-movies than the studio’s normal single-hero outing. Set for release in May 2016, Civil War sees the Marvel heroes pitted against each other. It features almost every actor from the Avengers movies, including Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans, and introduces Tom Holland as a new screen version of Spider-Man.

Sources say the budget on Civil War ballooned accordingly, which didn't sit well with the famously frugal Perlmutter. “New York wanted to scale it down,” says one insider. Marvel and Disney declined to comment.

"New York” in this case wasn’t just Perlmutter, 72. It was also Marvel's so-called "creative committee," a group of execs from Marvel’s various divisions including publishing as well as Alan Fine, Perlmutter’s right-hand man. The collective has been around since nearly the inception of Marvel Studios in the mid-2000s, offering critiques of creative choices as well as input on business decisions. Insiders say that with Feige breaking free of Perlmutter and the New York side of the company, the committee will not be disbanded but its influence over the Marvel movies will be nominal at best.

The re-organization does not affect Marvel's television unit, which has enjoyed far less success than the film operation but does have several series on the air, including Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter on ABC and Daredevil on Netflix. The TV arm still reports to Perlmutter and the committee. Publisher Dan Buckley and CCO Joe Quesada are among those who will remain on the committee for continuity purposes as some coordination and cooperation is required for Marvel's film, TV, comic book and merchandising arms to capitalize on projects and events.

“New York had a big say for a long time but hasn't Kevin earned the right to some autonomy? He’s made the company billions. Why is he reporting to a 72-year-old man who doesn’t make movies?” asks one insider.

In terms of how business is done on the film side, the impact of the shakeup is not yet clear. “Why would it change?" says one top agent. "It’s proven to be successful and everyone still wants to be part of the Marvel Universe.” But another top dealmaker holds out hope that the company will ease up on its notoriously tough terms in talent deals for all but the biggest Marvel stars. “I’m secretly hoping that it gets better with this realignment,” this person says. “They’re cheap, they’re aggressive. It certainly can't get any worse.”

Another person, who has dealt with Marvel on numerous deals, expressed hope that Marvel may loosen its tight reins on talent deal points. For example, Marvel, with several exceptions, does not pay merchandising royalties, which is not the industry norm, according to this source. Also, Marvel demands the right to use up to three minutes of an actor’s performance from one movie for another, described as "bridging material," when the broader norm is 30 seconds.

MEG LeFAUVE: Yeah, we haven’t started yet! We have not started yet. We just got the phone call to come over to Marvel. But for me personally, the wonderful thing about her and the challenge of her is going to be that she’s a female superhero. And that is awesome because she’s so powerful, and how hard is that going to be because she’s so powerful? We don’t want the Superman curse. “What’s her vulnerability?” is what we have to figure out.